PORTSMOUTH — Northern New England Coast Guard reported late Monday morning the Benjamin Bailey, a tugboat which sank in the Piscataqua River last week, had been towed to Eliot, Maine. It will stay moored there for the remainder of the local storm generated by Hurricane Sandy.

Officials said Sunday night they planned to use another tugboat to transport the Portsmouth tug only a couple of miles to Eliot Pier, before the Sandy system entered the area.

At 10:50 a.m. on Monday, a Coast Guard spokesman said the Bailey had been officially transported only moments beforehand.

The development in the story of the vessel, which went down Wednesday, Oct. 24, near Memorial Bridge, marks the end of the little boat's enduring saga. The 1,200-horsepower vessel sank for some unknown reason, and an investigation by the tugboat's owner, Archer Western Contractors, who oversees Riverside & Pickering Marine Contractors, is ongoing.

Authorities reported two people aboard the “moored,” or docked, vessel were able to escape when it was pinned against a nearby barge and began to sink, though specifics on exactly what caused the accident have yet to be revealed. The two crew members were uninjured and escaped safely. The boat reportedly only suffered a few minor, “cosmetic” structural damages, according to Command Duty Officer Randy Bucklin. Bucklin also said he believed the tugboat could be salvaged.

Throughout the weekend, as crews worked to pull the upside-down vessel closer to shore in the area of Prescott Park, and used cranes and lines to upright it, an oil leak occurred.

Clean Harbors crews could be seen Saturday evening placing a boom around the resurfaced tugboat to contain fluids. Workers pulled out white plastic bags tinted red from the diesel fuel for hours.

Dozens of bystanders frequented the observation deck near the park, all curious to see the slow-moving activity of the boat's rescue. At one point, more than 30 crew members were seen strategizing effective ways to pull the tugboat out of the water.

Officials said their plans for the six-day long rescue operation of the Bailey were complicated by Hurricane Sandy moving up the East Coast. Timm Balunis, a lieutenant commander with Northern New England Coast Guard, said typically, they would have called up a barge from Boston or New York City for assistance, but many have been docked in preparation of the inclement weather.

Archer Western Contractors reported all barges had been moved “up river” until the storm passes this week. Cranes and booms were down, the drill rig on Pier 3 was removed, extra bracing was added to Pier 2 and all land-based equipment was secured on each side of the Piscataqua.